World Briefing

By Compiled by Terence Neilan

Published: May 6, 1999

Correction Appended

EUROPE

CORSICA: FRANCE PICKS NEW AIDE

Seeking to defuse a political crisis, the governing Socialist Party appointed Jean-Pierre Lacroix, 56, as the new top administrator for Corsica. Mr. Lacroix, who held a similar position in the Val d'Oise region north of Paris, succeeds Bernard Bonnet, who was dismissed over the firebombing of a restaurant by three members of an anti-terror squad. The officers said they were acting on orders from superiors.(Agence France-Presse)

FRANCE: MORE LANGUAGES TO BLOOM

France, signaling an end to the exclusive reign of the French language at home, will sign the European charter on regional and minority languages, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's office said. The charter will enable regional languages to be taught in schools and used in official documents, the news media and economic, cultural and social activities. Brittany, Alsace, the Basque region and Corsica are among areas where support for local languages is strong. (Reuters)

EUROPEAN UNION CONFIRMS PRODI

The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, overwhelmingly approved the nomination of former Prime Minister Romano Prodi of Italy as the next president of the European Commission. The assembly voted by 392-to-72, with 41 abstentions, to endorse Mr. Prodi, left, who was chosen to succeed Jacques Santer after he and the 19 other members of the European Union's executive body resigned in March following corruption and mismanagement charges. (Reuters)

SPAIN: PINOCHET CHARGES APPEALED

Prosecutors appealed Judge Baltasar Garzon's recent move to add 50 more cases of torture to his request for the extradition from Britain of Chile's ex-dictator, Augusto Pinochet, court officials in Madrid said. The appeal said Mr. Garzon could not broaden the case as General Pinochet was not directly implicated in crimes, the officials said. Mr. Garzon ordered General Pinochet's arrest in London last October on charges of crimes against humanity. (Reuters)

NORTHERN IRELAND: TRIMBLE MEETS PROTESTERS

The leader of Ulster's major Protestant party, David Trimble, met for the first time with residents of Carvaghy Road in Portadown, who have long protested an annual march by the Protestant Orange Order through their neighborhood. The order's leaders refused to accompany him. The meeting came on the eve of a new round of talks in London today. Warren Hoge (NYT)

BRITAIN: BLAIR TALKS TO MUSLIMS

Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged that Britain's Muslims faced widespread prejudice and urged more of them to enter politics. Mr. Blair, the first Prime Minister to address the Muslim Council of Britain, was speaking after three bomb attacks in London, one aimed at Bangladeshis near a mosque. Mr. Blair said the bombings had brought British society together and praised Islam for its racial tolerance. (Reuters)

TURKEY: OCALAN LAWYERS THREATEN TO QUIT

Lawyers for Abdullah Ocalan have threatened to resign before the Kurdish rebel leader's trial begins May 31 unless defense conditions are improved. The lawyers demanded that the defense team be allowed to meet with Mr. Ocalan privately and that authorities stop reading their notes and files when they visit him in prison. Mr. Ocalan is accused of treason for leading a 15-year war for autonomy in Turkey's southeast. He faces the death penalty if convicted. (AP)

THE AMERICAS

COLOMBIA: DRUG CZAR FIRED

The director of the Government's war on drugs has been dismissed after allegations in the local press of corruption, including the personal use of real estate and vehicles taken from cocaine traffickers. Ruben Olarte, appointed head of the National Drug Council eight months ago, denied any wrongdoing. His dismissal came a day after the Government ordered the arrest of Gustavo Alvarez, governor of the province that includes Cali, on charges he accepted bribes from the cocaine cartel there. Larry Rohter (NYT)

MEXICO: PRI AIDE ACCUSED

Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez, a leader in Mexico City of the governing party known as the PRI, has been released on $10,600 bail after a night in jail on aggravated theft charges. Mr. Gutierrez was accused of organizing squatters to invade a vacant nine-acre plot in an industrial suburb. PRI leaders said the arrest was politically motivated. But the PRI has long sought to obtain votes from the urban poor by encouraging them to set up homesteads in vacant lands. Sam Dillon (NYT)

CANADA: ONTARIO VOTE SCHEDULED

Ontario voters will head to the polls June 3 in an election called a day after the Progressive Conservative government released a budget promising billions in tax cuts and after four years of severe reductions in spending on education and welfare. Most polls show the Liberals and Conservatives tied at around 40 percent each. (NYT)

VENEZUELA: CHARTER ELECTION JULY 25

Venezuelans will vote on July 25 to choose the 131 members of a new National Constituent Assembly to rewrite the country's Constitution, the National Electoral Council announced. The draft of the new charter will be voted on in a referendum in 2000. (Agence France-Presse)

Correction: May 7, 1999, Friday A picture in the World Briefing column yesterday with a report about Nigeria was published in error. It showed Gen. Sani Abacha, the Nigerian President who died last year, not the current President, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who signed a constitution intended to insure a smooth transition to civilian rule.